Giro: A week aboard the Cannondale bus

The few days the team was on the ground before the Giro could have gone either way, between loose and tense. The vibe reflected the leadership of Rigoberto Uran: tranquillo. At this point in the season, it’s a bit like the days before final exams; you’ve done the work or you haven’t. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

The team travels with a total of four coffee makers, and some of the staff and riders travel with their own kits. Espresso is the choice for the riders in the morning and for the mechanics, who seem to work on bikes 23 hours a day. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Bidon, bottle, borracho. Call them what you will. We brought 3,100 to the Giro total. Bottles aren’t re-used, but they don’t go wasted, either, as it’s the most common request fans have. Those and #selfies. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Ramunas Navardauskas warms up before the opening stage in the Netherlands. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Young Davide Formolo taps out the opening time trial. From the car one could see his shoulders strain when he got tired and his head come up. At the behest of Sebastian Weber, our performance director who was riding shotgun, director Eric Van Lanker urged Formolo to keep his head low and drive through the corners. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Rigo, Rigo, Rigo, the fans shout in the morning. He looks on from the bus, checks his phone a few times, and then ducks out to sign autographs, take photos, and head to the start. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

We’re all probably guilty of watching the race through our phones and cameras more than through our eyes. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Lunchtime. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Thus far the team has been all smiles on the rollers after stages. Keep it easy — the race is long, and everyone on the bike knows it. Rigo and Andre Cardozo take a few moments to enjoy the Netherlands crowd and media from Colombia. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Davide Formolo nabbed the bus driver’s hat on the first rest day before a training ride. On a day like that with a long transfer, the guys will hop out of the bus and ride to the hotel, just to keep the legs moving. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

The mechanics are absolutely meticulous. Silver paint pens to cover up the dings on the chain stays. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Alyssa Morahan, a soigneur with the Slipstream Sports teams since 2003, spent three hours doing the laundry one evening. The truck was parked slightly tilted, and it kept the water from draining properly. Soigneur duties vary greatly. Sometimes they go straight to the hotel and get the riders and staff’s bags set up and go to the grocery store; sometimes they’ll handle feed zones, massages… They’re an essential piece of the racing puzzle. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Grand tours make for long days. Teams usually eat dinner around 9 p.m., after the mechanics have finished up cleaning and tuning the bikes, massages are done, and plans for the next day are made. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Joe Dombrowski loves a good coffee in the morning and travels with an Aeropress. He celebrated his 25th birthday Thursday, and we got him a Giro mountain stage to celebrate. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

A coffee? Always a good question. Teams get to the start about 1.5 hours early, there’s time to grab one if you’re lucky. Soigneur Luca Fattori and bus driver Andrea “Biso” Bisogno take a minute before heading back to the bus. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

What all this fuss is about. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

The fans at the Giro cheer for many of the riders, but anytime Vincenzo Nibali’s name bellows from the speakers it’s a little… different. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Finish lines are always madness, and soigneurs help keep it in check. Bottles, towels, caps for interviews or the podium. Often times one can’t actually see the finish and only knows who won based on shouts. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Nate Brown didn’t know he was riding the Giro until just days prior, after Canadian Michael Woods was injured in Liège-Bastogne-Liège. He’s been steadfast in his domestique duties. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Director Bingen Fernandez looking at maps of the following day’s stage. Bingen spends a few hours a night planning for the next day, at least. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

Some days… if you’re lucky… Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports

DS Fabrizio Guidi chats with the team before stage 5, and includes a small presentation in the team meeting. Maps, profiles, images of the roads to come. It paid off, as Uran finished eighth on the day, stealing a few seconds from major rivals. Photo: Matthew Beaudin/Slipstream Sports